I decided to write this article after clicking on a website for a nationally recognized sales trainer, a dynamic, inspiring coach who reached six-figure success in her first year in business and could help me (and you) do the same! But what I read didn't make me want to pick up the phone and call to sign up for her services; it made me want to pick up the phone and ask for a job...
editing and rewriting her site.
This lady is not some fly-by-night sales coach.
Testimonials peppered throughout her site reveal that she's whip-smart, college-educated, articulate, and poised.
But you wouldn't know this by reading her website, because overshadowing the hype surrounding her expertise and successes were misspelled words, confusing headlines, awkward phrases, words which were used in the wrong context, and improper punctuation.
Ouch.
This site, which was intended to draw visitors and convert them to paying clients, is more likely doing the opposite.
And this coach probably has no idea why.
If, like this coach, you're a small business owner who writes your own copy, I'd like you to consider the benefits of outsourcing that work to a copywriter.
But rather than give you a typical list of reasons you should hire a writer, let me just counter objections you might have to doing so, one at a time.
I'm a good writer.
I got A's in English in high school Copywriting and English composition are two different skill sets.
English composition makes great novels.
Good copywriting drives sales.
Unless you're in the business of writing novels, you want a good copywriter to aid in your marketing efforts.
What exactly is copywriting? Copywriting is writing which is designed to drive results.
It's writing which moves readers to take some type of action, such as buying a product or service or supporting a cause.
And how does copywriting move people to take a desired action? By illustrating how a product or service solves a problem or fills a need they already have.
People are not interested in purchasing your "thing" or "service.
" They want to capture the emotional experience they expect that product or service to provide, and they buy based on how they perceive they will FEEL once they have that thing.
Good copywriting sells the experience.
And what about SEO? Keyword-rich and SEO-optimized copy will help your site to achieve higher search engine rankings, but that's just one piece of the puzzle.
Long after your site jumps to the top of Google and readers click on your site, they must become engaged.
Then, they must be informed, persuaded and convinced to take action.
SEO doesn't do all this.
Good, effective copy achieves this.
But it's too expensive! You're going to pay either way, either upfront for the writing to be done effectively or on the back-end with poor sales.
As I stated earlier, good writing drives sales, because people will always pay to have the emotional experience they believe a product or service will provide.
The bottom line: good, effective copy which drives sales will pay for itself over and over.
Finding a copywriter and telling them what I want takes too much time; it's easier to just do it myself.
Do you really have time to run every aspect of your business, or would you be more effective if you outsourced some of the work to other qualified professionals? One of my best clients is an excellent writer, but as the owner of a startup company, she's also terribly busy handling sales, hiring, training, and customer service.
Luckily, we've worked together long enough that she can email me a few talking points or tell me her goals for a piece of copy, and I'll knock that out while she works in her area of strength-recruiting clients.
As a business owner, you wear multiple hats.
When you focus your time and energy on areas of weakness, you feel drained and unmotivated.
However, when you work in your strengths and outsource less appealing or more challenging duties, you give yourself and your business room to grow and thrive.
Still not convinced you should hire a copywriter for your business? At least consider hiring a good editor to review your work.
It'll pay dividends for the life of your business.